Broiled Vegetable Soup

Preheat the broiler to high. Line a small baking pan with foil. Prick the eggplants in a few places with a small pointy knife and place in the pan. Broil for 30 minutes.

Place the bell peppers in another small foil-lined baking pan under the broiler, next to the eggplants. Turn the eggplants over with tongs. Broil for 15 minutes, turning the peppers over once during this time. Don’t worry if the eggplant skin begins to crack and char or if the peppers start going black.

Place the whole tomatoes in a small pan, underneath the other vegetables. Continue broiling the vegetables for 15 minutes. Then remove them all from the broiler. Cover the peppers with foil and leave to cool down; once they can be handled, peel them and tear the flesh into pieces. Cut a long slit in each eggplant and scoop out the soft flesh, avoiding most of the burnt skin; roughly chop the flesh and set aside.

While the vegetables are broiling, put the onions and olive oil in a large pot and fry on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are soft and golden.

Add the eggplant flesh, peppers, tomatoes, half the basil, the oregano leaves, garlic, stock and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer the soup for 15 minutes.

Blitz until smooth using an immersion blender, or a regular blender. Add the beans and mix well. Reheat the soup, then taste for seasoning. Serve hot, topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt (or with lemon) and the remaining basil.